Ambulance board takes closer look at call statistics

Ambulance board takes closer look at call statistics

Changes in call volume and statistics has been a frequent topic of discussion for the Callaway County Ambulance District Board of Directors over the past year.

What made Tuesday night's meeting different was Director Charlie Anderson's report on how those statistics are affecting the district's bottom line.

Anderson said the district had responded to 1,116 calls in the first quarter of 2014 - an average of 12.4 per day - only 12 more than the same period last year. Of those calls, 734 were billable.

He offered the board a side-by-side comparison of the first three months of 2013 and 2014, with a look at charges, and types of calls (actual, billable, no transport, etc.).

"What you can see is that while actual calls were essentially level, the no-transports are much higher," Anderson said. "That translates into fewer billable calls, which is why revenue is lower."

January 2014 saw a decrease of 6.52 percent in billable calls from 2013, with increases of 18.97 percent in no transport calls, 36.73 percent in no patient contact calls and 5.97 percent in refusal of care calls.

February 2014 saw a decrease of 7.81 percent in billable calls from 2013, with increases of 37.5 percent in no transport calls, 27.27 percent in no patient contact calls and 47.73 percent in refusal of care calls.

March 2014 saw a decrease of 16.79 percent in billable calls from 2013, with increases of 50 percent in no transport calls, 68.29 percent in no patient contact calls and 35.29 percent in refusal of care calls.

Anderson said he plans to do more investigation into calls involving refusal of care.

"What are you thinking on refusal of care? Is it insurance?" new board member Brian Schmidt asked.

Anderson said he does not have a good answer for that question, but he intends to investigate further.